Free Flyte
by senga6
Summary: She was funny, sarcastic, mysterious, and he had fallen in love with her the moment he had seen her. There was something about her that was simply different, as she watched the sky. He'd only known her for a week.
1. Meetings

F R E E F L Y T E

Chapter 1  
Meetings

* * *

She would fly, if she were not bound to the ground with legs.

* * *

She was always looking up to the sky, wherever she went.

She was often distracted because of that. During class, her seat just happened to be next to the window, and seeing only the side of her face became a common occurrence, even after the teacher moved her seat to the farthest point from the windows.

She often watched the birds with longing in her eyes, a dreamy look on her face as she watched the clouds passed by, hanging in the blue sky without a care in the world.

Kinomoto Sakura was indeed a strange person.

School seemed to be a mere annoyance to her, like a fly. Always there to bother you, and never leaving, even after swatting it away.

The bell rang, and students poured out of classrooms and rushed into the hallways, relieved that they were one period closer to going back home to their games and whatnot. Sakura was pulled out of the classroom by a certain Daidouji Tomoyo, laughing as Sakura moaned, eyes still looking out the window and into the blue sky.

Then the tiny glimpse she had of the window disappeared altogether and she sighed, wishing she could be outside instead of being cooped in a large building filled with immature boys and girls, flirting with one another.

What horrible luck she had.

This could not be healthy, this staying-inside-for-many-hours. How… pointless. On such beautiful days, they should be learning outside, with much-needed fresh air filling their lungs. The regular old school air was horrible. Especially on a Monday, when everyone's brains were dead.

"Tomoyo, if you don't let go of me, I will be forced to _make_ you let go of me."

Tomoyo simply laughed and continued to pull her along, knowing that Sakura was far too nice to actually do anything with her threat.

'_Well, at least it's lunchtime,'_ she thought with a sigh, wishing, once again, that she could be outside.

Perhaps if she finished lunch quickly enough, she could go outside for a while.

Jeers and laughter greeted her as she entered the lunchroom, but she serenely ignored them all and instead continued on, walking to her lunch table calmly.

Maybe she should give her thanks that she wasn't a target for them, though that would be cruel, since they were targeting someone else.

A group towered over a hunched figure, obviously scared to death. "What's wrong? I thought you were oh-so-good at gym. Why don't you beat us up? Huh? Oh, wait, that's right, you can't actually do anything in gym, you just got all the questions on the test right."

As Sakura walked by them, she murmured, "You know, our 'gym' teacher won't be happy if she heard you say that. She's said over and over that you need to call the subject Physical Education, but perhaps you didn't hear, seeing how you're making fun of someone who got the Education part right."

The group turned towards her, annoyed. "What do you know, Miss Oh-So-Proper Sakura?"

She stopped and looked at them. "When did I give you permission to call me by my first name?"

"When didn't you?"

"That's a stupid question. From the moment I was born."

The guy snarled. "Shut UP! Why don't you just stuff your head into a window, watching your little birdies?"

"Why don't you do us ALL a favor and shut up as well, and stuff _your_ head down a toilet?"

The room tittered and snickered as Sakura continued walking on, leaving the bullies behind her, fuming.

Tomoyo sighed. "Can't you go a day without picking a fight, Sakura? In all truth, I'm amazed by the fact that no one has beaten you up yet."

She smiled mysteriously. "Ah, Tomoyo, the problem with boys is that they all think we women are weak and useless. Funny how that happened, considering how without us, they wouldn't be born. Though the advantage is that they can't hurt us, lest we be 'hurt'."

Tomoyo smiled. "I can practically feel the idiocy in the air, tainted by idiots."

"That was rather redundant, but yes, there is quite some idiocy in the air."

Sakura finished lunch as quickly as possible, managing to get outside. For some strange reason, they gave everyone a 25 minute lunch, and if they finished, they could go outside.

'_And here I thought that teachers were supposed to encourage getting fresh air.'_

Sakura sneaked out quietly, not wanting to deal with more idiots than she had already that day, and did so quite easily. All of them were oblivious, and she probably could've walked right in front of them and they wouldn't have noticed.

Crisp, beautifully fresh air entered her lungs. It might have been a bit cold for her liking, but then again, she had always been a touch sensitive to the cold.

It was autumn, Fall, the time for leaves to die. They serenaded their death with breath-taking colors of paint, and then they were gone, as quickly as they had come into her life.

No one appreciated the beauty of nature anymore, and it was such a pity. Not Tomoyo, and especially not those idiots that filled her school. Though, not all of them were bad. Like Chiharu, or Yamazaki. They were fun to be with.

Sakura got another intake of fresh air before the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, and the end of her short freedom.

She sighed and entered the building again, eyes trained on the sky until it was out of sight again.

~:~*~:~

_Tick, tock, TICK._ Another minute. One more minute, and this interminable droning that belonged to her teacher would be cut short. She practically begged the clock to go faster.

_Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock…_

So close, so close… _TICK._ Sakura was ready to jump for joy as the bell rang. She gathered her things as quickly as possible and made her escape.

Sakura rushed out the door, the sky greeting her with wisps of clouds curling in random spots of the blue. She smiled and began walking, eyes never leaving the sky, until-

Yeah. She should have guessed. It would have been just her luck to crash into someone.

"-Oh. Sorry," Sakura said, not sounding sorry at all.

The boy looked at her, his eyes the most interesting shade. She'd never seen an amber before. Like a molten gold, with some hints of orange-ish red.

"Yeah, sorry," he mumbled quickly before taking off, mumbling a string of curses that made Sakura grin, a tiny blush on his face.

Their first meeting - check.


	2. Life

F R E E F L Y T E

Chapter 2  
Life

* * *

She lived life as it was, to make the best of what she was given.

* * *

It was morning, and that meant school.

Oh, how she hated Tuesdays.

Then again, they weren't that bad, compared to Mondays. Now those were horrible. Like yesterday, they just dragged on and on and on…

The only thing that had any semblance to something interesting was the boy.

She was intrigued. Around where she lived, she was already the oddity. Auburn hair, green eyes? Everyone else had black hair and brown eyes, except for the 'popular' kids. They all dyed their hair.

But that boy… He hadn't been apart of the popular group. Or else, he would've been there every time they made fun of her, and she hadn't seen him. She made a list of popular kids who made fun of her, because Kinomoto Sakura got even.

Sakura groggily sat up, rubbing her eyes, and made her way down to breakfast.

Now that she had thought about it, she had a few more people to get even with…

~:~*~:~

She sighed as she caught sight of her school. Time to say good-bye to her beloved sky.

Oh, how she loathed crashing into people as she said her silent good-byes. _Again_, she crashed into the interesting boy.

Her temper got to her brain first. "Must you always bump into me for us to meet?"

He scowled at her. "Excuse me, but you were the one that bumped into _me_."

"This argument is going to turn petty soon, so please do shut up."

He glared at Sakura and failed rather miserably, with the blush staining his cheeks.

"-So. Who are you?"

The boy was simply dumbfounded. "You don't know me?"

She cocked her head sideways. "Should I?"

"Seeing how you're going to be my partner for Science today, yes, you should."

This time Sakura blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm very easily distracted, and tend not to remember names."

He smiled dryly. "I guessed."

They were silent for a bit as they both helped each other up. Then, the boy asked, "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Sakura groaned. "Please tell me you're not implying what I think you are."

Another blush greeted her answer. "Well, that technically isn't my fault."

"No, really? Love at first sight? How cliché."

The boy mock-glared. "Well, life just likes to be cliché."

Sakura smiled and laughed. "True. But life is so interesting. You simply can't take anything seriously."

He looked puzzled. "Really? Why not?"

She flashed a smirk. "If we took life seriously, it'd be a bit boring, don't you think?"

Right on cue, the bell rang, and thus making both of them late for class.

'_Kuso,'_ they thought in eerie unison.

"Well then, I'll see you in Science, Mr. -…?"

He smiled. "Syaoran. Li Syaoran."

"Mr. Cliché it is."

He grinned. "Very well then, Miss Sakura Kinomoto.

Then they both set off to their respective classrooms as quickly as possible, knowing that they were both going to be in so much trouble.

~:~*~:~

It was a repetitive cycle of class, class, class, class, lunch, class, class, class, class. Class meaning stare out the window and do nothing, lunch meaning forcing down food and rushing out into the autumn air.

The only difference was Science, and that was because of the boy.

"Hi." It was a dull greeting, yes, but a greeting nonetheless, and she would answer it to be polite.

"Hello, Mr. Cliché," she mumbled absently, looking out the window and staring at the cloudy sky for that day.

"Are you just going to let me do all the work?" he asked sarcastically, and when she turned around with some annoyance, she saw that he had already started on what they were supposed to be doing.

And exactly what they were supposed to be doing, she had absolutely no idea.

Sakura cleared her throat, feeling slightly embarrassed, and answered.

"Yes."

Syaoran gave her a look that said, '_wow, really?'_ and continued to work.

A heavy yet non-awkward silence sat between them, though Sakura didn't even seem to notice, too indulged in her vigilant and interminable watching.

"So, what do you think about life?"

She said it almost cheerfully, yet her words were weighed down by… _something_.

Syaoran cocked his head sideways thoughtfully as he took another sample of a plant.

"Life…" he began, amber eyes carefully looking to make sure he got the exact size he wanted, "is confusing."

Sakura smiled faintly. "No duh?"

A faint blush colored his cheeks again, though he didn't look at Sakura, still working on the plant.

"Well," Sakura began, "life is more than just simplicity. Every single human on this earth has life, and every single human has a story in that life. There is a reason for every action, a reason for why someone turned out to be what they became."

She plucked a tiny piece of the plant sample and held it up to the light.

"This, once upon a time, was part of a living plant. And then, we so carelessly plucked a leaf, and killed that leaf. To learn more.

"Just to learn more? What right do we have to kill something just because we want to learn more? Do we kill humans, just because we wish to learn more about humans?

"No, because we humans are living, apparently. So do these plants. These plants let off oxygen, let us live, yet we so ungratefully ruin the earth, using up all the resources, and polluting this place we call home, killing off the things that give _us_ life. We're horrible."

Syaoran hesitated in the middle of putting the slide under a microscope, looking suddenly guilty. "Umm… yes. That's very true."

Sakura smiled, but it wasn't a cheerful one.

"Oh, don't worry about the leaf sample you just took. The leaf was already plucked, so you don't have to feel guilty or anything.

The bell rang and Sakura left, leaving a confused Syaoran with their unfinished Science work.


	3. Animals

F R E E F L Y T E

Chapter 3  
Animals

* * *

Are we not animals ourselves?

* * *

Sakura woke up to a knock on the door and her brother's head poked in, looking semi-annoyed.

"There's a gaki outside, saying he wants to talk to you. Should I tell him to get out of my sight?"

Sakura blinked. "Would you have happened to gotten the name…?" she asked blearily, thinking that she really hated school days in general. Perhaps Wednesdays even more, for being in the middle of the school week.

It was Touya's turn to blink. "…No?"

Sakura tiredly sighed, getting up slowly and looked out her window.

There stood a certain Li Syaoran, otherwise known as Mr. Cliché.

"What are you doing now, stalking me?" she snarled, green eyes flashing dangerously. "I happen to like my sleep, unlike you."

Syaoran smiled nervously. "Umm… sorry?"

"'Sorry' isn't nearly enough," she grumbled darkly before turning to her brother.

"It's fine," she said with a sigh. "Just some random guy I happen to know."

Touya scowled. "I still think I should tell him to get the hell away from our house."

Sakura smiled, failing in trying to hide her amusement. "Maybe another day."

With that, she pushed her brother out of the room, got dressed down, and grabbed a piece of toast before rushing out to meet Syaoran (though it was a lot more likely that she rushed out for some fresh air).

She chewed on her toast as she walked backwards, looking up, watching the clouds drift by. Syaoran walked with her somewhat awkwardly, but that was fine with him.

A comfortable silence hung between the two, the clouds moving far too slowly to catch up to them. Sakura slowly held an arm up, as if to reach for the sky, Syaoran watching her silently, a strange expression in his eyes.

"You're strange."

Sakura made no sign that she had heard him, but continued walking backwards, hand outstretched, a slight smile hanging on her face.

"Aren't we all?"

Syaoran wasn't quite sure what to say, so he simply shut his mouth and told himself that the next time he said something stupid or he- he- he would do something. Inwardly, he cursed at himself for sounding so pathetic in his own mind. The only other time he'd sounded so pathetic was that time when he'd had that very creepy dream when Eriol hugged him. He'd woken up screaming as if… well, in all truth, he would only scream like that if Eriol had hugged him. Not even the world dying or a mass murderer about to kill him could compare to that horror.

"You know," a familiar voice murmured, ripping him from his thoughts, "people in general are so stupid."

He blinked at her, wondering if she was hinting at something about him, and wondering if he should thusly be very offended.

"Err…"

"Shut up, please."

Syaoran absently wondered if the word 'err' counted as 'something stupid'.

She looked at his puzzled and thoughtful expression, somewhat amused, and decided she would answer his unasked 'huh?'.

"Humans are animals, correct?"

Syaoran nodded silently, thankful for a question he need not answer verbally, lest he make an idiot out of himself again.

"Have you noticed how humans use the word 'animal' as an insult?"

Syaoran nodded again, but much slower this time, knowing where she was leading him now.

"Well?"

Syaoran silently cursed, wishing she could've just asked another yes or no question, but answered anyways.

"So in other words, every time we use the word 'animal' as an insult, we're insulting ourselves."

She smiled sardonically. "Good job."

A tiny scowl hung on his face, but he remained silent.

Both stopped as a car rushed by, obviously in some kind of hurry and uncaring as a squirrel was ran over.

Sakura's gaze darkened as Syaoran winced. Both bowed their heads in unison for the now dead life.

Another car rushed by, narrowly missing the flattened squirrel. They crossed the street in silence, and Syaoran wondered if Sakura had some kind of psychic ability to predict the future.

When they reached the school, they turned to each other, waiting for the other to go in first. Syaoran, feeling awkward, mumbled something Sakura couldn't quite catch.

"Excuse me?" she said pleasantly.

Turning a deeper red, he mumbled a bit louder, "I'm supposed to take your picture. For the school yearbook, you know."

She looked at him, her expression unreadable. "You're in the Yearbook Club?"

Flushing, he shot back, "Is there something wrong with that?"

She smiled, and it was a genuine smile. "No. Not at all."

Syaoran was actually bothered by this somewhat, but he brushed it off. He began searching through his backpack for that digital camera he had stuffed somewhere as Sakura asked another question.

"Why do you have to take my picture, anyways?"

He rolled his eyes. "You missed the day for pictures, remember? Called in sick or something. Plus, my club mates so kindly dumped the job of taking your picture on me."

"Oh. Right." Her tone was almost sad, almost… uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, Syaoran couldn't seem to find the camera, even though he was sure he had put it in his backpack. He stopped as he felt cold metal resting on his cheek.

"What are you doing?" Syaoran said, grabbing whatever-it-was from Sakura's hands, expression annoyed.

"A camera," she said easily, as if this happened every day. "Since you seem unable to find yours, you can use mine."

Syaoran looked it over; it was an old camera. One of those click-and-print ones.

"Don't you have a digital camera?" he said, fingering it, wondering if it still worked.

"Nope."

He sent an exasperated glare, wondering why he even put up with this. Deciding the camera was better than nothing, he set her up against the school, telling her to smile with some sarcasm inserted.

But it seemed obvious to Syaoran that even though she wasn't looking into the camera, it was the perfect shot of her. Smile mysterious as ever, eyes watching the sky above, school behind her; it was a nice shot, if he could say so himself.

The Photoshop guys could just scan it and paste the picture into the yearbook or something.

The first bell rang, and right on cue, a group of people came rushing their way, intent on getting to class on time. But Syaoran hadn't really noticed them, nervously watching the green eyes that bore through him, reading him and his soul, mind, and heart like an open book, her own carefully guarded.

"What is the meaning of human?" she asked him softly before whisking into the school, leaving him standing there, feeling like an idiot all over again, and he still wasn't quite sure why.

He quietly admitted, amidst the river of students, that the picture he had to take probably wasn't the complete reason he'd gone to visit Kinomoto Sakura.

Perhaps he'd visit her tomorrow, as well.

At the end of the day, he found his digital camera, in the pocket he hadn't looked in.


	4. Right

F R E E F L Y T E

Chapter 4  
Right

* * *

We've messed this world up so much, how can we say what's right or wrong?

* * *

Thursday. Almost Friday. Almost there.

She stared at the calendar desolately, hunched over her blankets covering her body, back leaning against the blank wall.

_Almost there._

She sighed dejectedly and didn't even jump when there was a sharp knock on the door.

Touya opened the door; the annoyance on his face clearly meant one thing.

"The gaki's back."

Sakura groaned, bringing her head down on the nearest wall.

"Can I tell him to get away from our house this time?"

Even though Sakura couldn't see her brother's face, she could practically see the hope shining in his eyes.

"No."

A sigh and a soft click as the door closed again registered in Sakura's foggy brain. With another loud groan, she stretched and got out of bed to get dressed.

~:~*~:~

"Hello Mr. Stalker, what may I do for you today?"

A hint of a blush settled on his cheeks as he turned away, looking almost as if he was pouting.

"...Puppy."

Syaoran turned to her, disbelief apparent. "Excuse me?"

"...You look like a little puppy that didn't get his treats."

Looking clearly like he was going to say something extremely rude, someone cleared their throat right behind him.

There stood Touya in all his glory.

Giving the 'gaki' a glare screaming '_WERE YOU GOING TO SAY SOMETHING?'_, Syaoran quickly quieted down, not wanting to risk his life.

Sakura quickly grabbed a piece of toast and rushed out the door, Syaoran quickly rushing after her, feeling Touya's scowl and eyes burning holes through his back.

As he finally caught up to her, there was a moment of silence as Sakura finished off her breakfast in a few quick bites.

"So. What are you doing here?"

Syaoran shrugged, looking tired.

"I have no idea... You seem better company than silence, though."

She smiled at that. "Anyone would be better company than silence."

He shot her a half-hearted glare as he answered, "I also came to remind you I'm your partner for Social Studies, and to ask if you brought your stuff for the project."

Sakura blinked and stopped right in her tracks, realization dawning on her.

"...Oh."

Syaoran looked at her exasperatedly. "Please tell me you brought your stuff."

"Be right back!"

With that said Sakura make a 180 degree turn and ran back to her house as he laughed silently, chest heaving with unheard chuckles.

~:~*~:~

"Hi."

She looked at him, smiling.

"Hi."

She plopped herself next to him, taking out the materials she had gone back to retrieve.

"Good thing I reminded you, or else Mizuki-sensei would've chewed you out."

Sakura sighed. "I do have a bad memory, don't I?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

A low whistling noise caught their attention and they turned in unison. Sakura smiled at Tomoyo warily, the huge sparkles in her eyes giving her a sinking feeling that she was going to be questioned thoroughly.

Syaoran, however, was glaring at a certain Hiiragizawa Eriol (who was sitting besides a Daidouji Tomoyo), and he simply winked back and whistled again, looking very amused as Syaoran mouthed 'I'll kill you'.

When the door opened, all students immediately ceased talking and joking. Mizuki Kaho entered the classroom, a kind smile on her face.

"As you all know, we're going to start something new – we're going to learn about the courts in America, since they have such interesting ones."

There were a few groans as some remembered, but the teacher simply ignored them all and asked for all those who had forgotten to bring supplies to raise their hands.

"Read pages 146 to 168 with your partner. Then work on your posters, and remember I'm grading those very carefully. Begin!"

The project was part-way done by the time class ended, and Mizuki-sensei told them the deadline was Tuesday next week, both of them agreeing they should meet again that day to work on the project.

As the two were leaving, Mizuki-sensei told Syaoran to wait a moment.

Once everyone had left, she murmured, "It's fine if you don't finish the project on time, so don't worry."

Syaoran looked at her, confused. "Why wouldn't I finish on time? And why aren't you telling my partner this, too?"

The teacher stared at him, as if wondering he was genuinely confused or not.

"…You'll see. Now go to your next class; you wouldn't want to be late."

~:~*~:~

Syaoran waited for Sakura after school, despite the insinuating (and infuriating) looks Eriol and Tomoyo shot them.

"We're friends!" Syaoran shouted at them as Sakura dragged him away, knowing that by the next day the whole school would think they were dating.

"Where do you want to work?" he asked her as soon as they had gotten a good distance between them and the two annoyances, also known as Eriol and Tomoyo.

"You want to go work at the park?"

Syaoran had meant which house, but Sakura was an enigma, so he decided to go along.

"Sur- HEY! Give that back!"

Yes, Kinomoto Sakura was an enigma.

Anyways, one way or the other, they'd recruited little kids to help them color their poster, and it was just as fun to watch them have fun while doing their work.

"It'd kind of unfair," Sakura remarked randomly, flipping pages in the textbook.

Syaoran decided not to reply, knowing she would probably continue, but if she wouldn't then it wasn't like he could convince her to.

"What is right and what is wrong? We humans are raised biased, so how could we be completely unbiased? Isn't that what a judge is supposed to be? Unbiased?"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "We are?"

"Oh, haven't you realized? We all grow up being corrupted by the adults, especially by those that run the media. We all grow up prejudiced."

She sighed, watching the children with some sort of pity in those green depths.

"A child sees the world better than an adult, for children see the world with neutral eyes. And yet, we scorn the opinion of those younger than us. Who is to say that knowledge gained with time makes us wiser?"

Sakura stopped at one page and pointed at the title 'Jury'.

"The majority becomes 'right' and the minority becomes 'wrong'. This should be wrong, if you truly think about it, but it's not. Why is it not possible for the minority to be right? It's certainly a possibility."

She laughed, but it was almost resentful, bitter. "Though, I find it funny that as a human myself, I scorn all the things we do wrong. Yet perhaps that must be so, for me to judge my own kind. Though, who am I to say what is right and who is wrong?"

Sakura dropped her eyes to the ground, and as the children cheered (after finally finishing coloring), she smiled and murmured something so quietly Syaoran could only wonder if he'd heard correctly.

"_I am a wrong."_


	5. Death

F R E E F L Y T E

Chapter 5  
Death

* * *

It is part of living, yet it is human to fear it.

* * *

Friday.

The end of the school week.

Sakura buried her head in her hands, feeling utterly miserable.

She forced her body to move, and sitting on the edge of her bed, she looked at her room. It was neat, the light pink walls pulsing with happiness.

Looking out the window, there it was; a pristine light blue, wisps of pure white clouds stretched and stuck on randomly.

Overhead, a bird flew.

He was free. She was not.

Down below, stood Syaoran.

He was free. She was not.

There was a knock on the door and Sakura mumbled something about changing and for him not to come in.

Outside the door, Touya sighed, his head leaning on the door. He knew a lie when he heard one, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Inside the room, a transparent tear trickled down a pale cheek and dropped off her chin.

~:~*~:~

Li Syaoran was not stupid. No, not at all.

It was quite obvious to him there was something about Sakura nobody was telling him, and he was rather intrigued. He'd met her father again that morning, but this time there was some kind of mix between pity and sadness in his gaze.

Her brother's eyes were hostile (as expected), and… resigned?

And that talk with Mizuki-sensei yesterday… It was strange. Something was extremely suspicious about the whole thing.

Yet Sakura seemed perfectly fine, though then again, he had only known her for a week, so he really shouldn't judge what was fine and what wasn't for her.

He waited patiently and was rewarded with a blur and slam of the door.

Turning to her brother, he asked, "Was that your sister?"

Touya looked at him as if to say, _'What do you think, idiot?'_, and walked out of the room.

Walking out the door, Syaoran wondered what the heck had happened.

Sakura, however, was standing to the right of the door, her back leaning against the house.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hey."

"Don't you think autumn's such a beautiful yet horrible season?"

Syaoran frowned as they began walking. "Beautiful, I can understand, but horrible? How's it horrible?"

Under the path of trees, she caught a single leaf the color of apples, rolling the stem between her fingers.

"Such a beautiful thing – and it's only beautiful because it changed colors. And why is it changing colors? It's dying. October, the month the leaves were painted golden and red, letting people admire them for a few days before deciding to fall and thus die.

"Horrible, isn't it? Beautiful as they die. Then, next year, as autumn comes again, everyone will be all happy about the leaves that die that year."

There was such piercing, raw bitterness in her voice that he could only look at her in response. He'd never heard her speak in such a tone.

For the rest of the walk, they both stayed silent, and a quiet 'see you later' was mumbled as their paths split.

~:~*~:~

There was a silent agreement between the two to meet at the park again even though their project was done with (Mizuki-sensei was infinitely impressed, though there was also a mournful expression in her eyes).

They sat at the bench silently, and Syaoran suddenly felt as though the distance between the two had grown.

He glanced at her before realizing there were tears streaking down her face, and he was completely shocked. He'd thought of her as strong, amazing, yet here she was, crying.

"What's wrong?" His voice sounded gentler than he'd ever heard it before.

"…Nothing."

"You can't tell me there's nothing wrong as you're crying."

A long sigh followed. "I'm just so _tired_."

Neither of the two were looking at each other. "Of what?"

"I don't know. Everything. Nothing. The world. Thinking about death is kind of depressing, you know. Makes you remember how insignificant you are."

Syaoran bit his lip as he thought on that. "Well, every single person must have had some kind of impact on at least one other person. You and me, for example. You're not exactly insignificant in my life after all those philosophical speeches."

That coaxed a laugh out of her. "Philosophical speeches, huh? Are they that boring?"

He smiled. "Not at all. Simply makes your head hurt from thinking too much."

Silence settled on them again, but this was a comfortable one, one that there were no words that needed to be said. The wind drifted by, the sky as clear as it had been for the past week, little kids playing. It was peaceful.

"Are you afraid of death?" she whispered, and the breeze brought it to his ears.

"Yeah."

"I am, too. Humans fear death; it's natural. You know how sometimes I don't act like other people, right? Of all the things to be all 'human' about, it's the fear of death. How funny."

Somewhere amidst the large playground, a child shouted, "DIE!"

"Yet we joke about someone else dying so easily," she said wryly.

"See you again tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow _morning_?"

"Yeah."

The sun slowly set, lowering further down the now pink sky, the clouds turning purple.


	6. Free Flyte

F R E E F L Y T E

Chapter 6  
Free Flyte

* * *

It is my freedom, my happiness, my wings.

* * *

Saturday.

She didn't feel sad or angry for a change. There was simple acceptance.

"…Arigato, Syaoran."

She was ready for the day.

~:~*~:~

A full breakfast for once, not one rushed down in face of school.

Sakura bit into her toast thoughtfully just as the bell rang.

"I'll get it!" Sakura shouted and rushed to the door. She wasn't surprised to see Syaoran standing there.

"So, where to today?"

"Penguin Park."

Sakura shut the door behind them. Fujitaka sighed and slumped into his seat.

"He doesn't know does he?"

Sakura's father shook his head at his son's question.

"…Will she tell him?"

Kinomoto Fujitaka smiled sadly.

"Only if she wants to. She is her own person, after all. She can make her own decisions."

Sakura strolled down the path easily, and she looked as if she was dancing. It was a beautiful October day; there was no doubt about that.

"So?"

He stared at her. "What?"

"What do you want to ask me?"

A frown settled over his features. "How would you know if I wanted to ask you something?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "It's written all over your face. A million things one could ask, and the next day, one will regret not asking them. Ask already, Syaoran, it's not that hard to open your mouth."

Syaoran looked more surprised than ever.

"What?"

"You called me by my name."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What's so amazing about that?"

"You never called me 'Syaoran' before."

"…Oh. So, what did you want to ask me before?"

Resisting the urge to sigh loudly and hit his head repeatedly on the nearest tree, he absently answered, "Why everyone's acting so strange when it comes to you."

The words weren't exactly hurtful, but Sakura was unexpectedly silent.

"…I'll tell you tomorrow."

With that said, she turned away and ran towards the park.

He wondered if he'd said something wrong.

~:~*~:~

Sakura stood atop the slide with Syaoran. The children had slowly, one by one, left to go home, their parents going with them. Now, they were alone with the sunset.

"I love the sky."

Such a simple statement. "I know."

"I would love to be able to take flyte."

"Who wouldn't?"

"No, not that flight. It's spelled f-l-y-t-e."

"Isn't that an American book?"

"My flyte is different from the book, Syaoran. It's not some charm that can make you fly. To me… it's the freedom of flying. Free Flyte."

"But you can't fly."

Her mysterious eyes flashed mischievously. "If you think that way, then you can't."

"Is that so."

"Absolutely."

"You seem to be in a better mood today."

"Don't change the subject. Believe, and you will."

"Not everything's possible."

"Anything is possible. It may not happen to you, but it could happen to someone else. Someone could live as you die."

"That's a depressing thought."

"Thank you."

There was a brief pause before Sakura continued. "If I could fly…" A happy sigh, dreamy. "With wings of my own, to be _free_."

"You're saying it as if you aren't free."

Sakura laughed softly, and it sounded like the tinkling of bells. "No one's truly free. We're all trapped one way or the other. Unable to be who you truly are, unable to tell a secret because the rest of the world would hate you for it. Everyone has a secret, something nobody else knows. No matter how happy we are, we're never actually free."

"Then how would you ever be free?"

"Tomorrow, Syaoran, I promise. I'll tell you tomorrow."

"So that means you're actually inviting me to go somewhere? Is that what I hear? Is this going to be a _date_?"

"I'm not going to answer that."

"…At least promise you'll answer it tomorrow."

"Okay then."

Silence covered over them as night fell and the stars emerged to play with the moon.

"_Free, in the afterlife, perhaps."_


	7. Love

F R E E F L Y T E

Chapter 7  
Love

* * *

Is it fair for me to love now?

* * *

Sakura woke to silence, pure, ugly, hateful silence.

"…So close."

She twisted to look at her alarm clock and found herself surprised.

"Hmm… Fifteen minutes before he arrives. Guess I'll get ready then."

There would be no preparing tomorrow.

~:~*~:~

Truthfully, Syaoran was surprised when it was Sakura, not Touya or their father, who answered the door.

"…I thought you didn't like getting up early."

Sakura grinned, seeming quite proud. "I don't, but for some reason I woke up early today."

_And I know the reason why._

They strolled out the house together as both her father and brother watched.

"He's special to her."

Fujitaka smiled at the comment. "And vice versa."

A grunt was his answer. "He'd better make her happy today."

The smile dropped and tears welled behind glasses.

"_If only for today."_

~:~*~:~

"So, where do you want to go today?"

"Let's just walk around."

Before either of the two realized, their feet was on the path towards the school.

Sakura stopped at the bridge, the bridge neither of them had noted during the last week. She leaned over the railing, watching the water rush by.

"I never really noticed this here," Syaoran remarked thoughtfully.

"All the little things escape our notice, until you realize how beautiful each and every thing is," Sakura mused, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes.

"Yeah," he agreed softly.

"Want to take a picture?"

He gave her a look. "…Where were you hiding that camera?"

She simply smiled at him and handed him the camera as she leaned back on the bridge's railing.

The picture was like the one he'd taken at the school; perfect, mysterious, haunting, beautiful.

It seemed obvious that she could never get her eyes off of the sky.

"Why do you always look at the sky, anyways?"

His words seemed lacking, though. She didn't simply _look_ at the sky, she watched it, as if she could understand some other language the rest of the world couldn't, as if she was watching something unattainable yet there.

Sakura was quiet, but her facial expression was enough. Sometimes she just didn't use words, just stayed silent, but there was always something in her eyes that let the world know what she was thinking, feeling.

But when her answer came, Syaoran had to strain his ears to hear it over the rushing water underneath their feet.

"…Free Flyte."

He blinked, remembering what she said yesterday, and did not answer her, for what else was there to say?

He began handing her the picture, but she refused.

"Something to remember me by, ne?"

And then she was wandering elsewhere, leaving Syaoran to wonder why he felt as if he was missing the point.

~:~*~:~

Apparently, Sakura had a sweet tooth that he hadn't discovered until today. Licking her ice cream with a content smile, she twirled around in her dress, obviously quite happy.

They made their way to Penguin Park, sitting on one of the vacant benches as they watched people live their lives, parents minding their children, children playing, teenagers laughing, the elderly reminiscing.

"I didn't really realize how much I loved the world until it was hitting me smack in the face."

Syaoran let a tiny laugh. "Neither did I."

"Hey, remember that question you asked me, the one I never answered?"

He thought back on the past week, but it felt like an eternity, and he couldn't remember which question she was talking about, for there were many.

"Which one?"

"You asked me if I believed in love at first sight."

He turned slightly red, feeling like an idiot as he remembered.

"…Yeah."

Sakura laughed at his discomfort, the sides of her mouth turned upwards as she finished off the last of her ice cream, green eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Well, actually, yes, I do."

There was a sigh. "I completely forgot about it."

Sakura smiled wider, licking her fingers. "I thought it was kind of cute, how you were hitting on me."

His earlier blush couldn't compare to this one as he stuttered out some reply no one could actually make out, his face completely red.

"…Does this count as a date, then?"

Sakura laughed, the musical sound attracting the attention of some, but they quickly went back to whatever it was they were doing.

"Yes, Syaoran."

He smiled back at her. "Okay then."

They both stayed quiet as Sakura finished off every single bit of ice cream there was on her hands, wiping them off on her dress, before a somber look overtook her happy expression.

"…I'm sorry."

Syaoran looked at her, confused. "What for?"

"I didn't tell you. But I will, since I promised I would yesterday."

A horrible feeling rushed through him. "…What didn't you tell me?"

Sakura's once cheerful smile turned melancholic, and her eyes turned the same color as the leaves on the trees that surrounded the park.

"Today's my last day to live."

Syaoran could hear the pounding of his heart in his head and he could only stare at her, look at her with incredulity, his head tuning out all other noises, the sounds of the happy children and laughs fading away.

"What?"

"I have a disease; I'm dying as we talk right now, Syaoran."

"-What is it?"

"Nobody knows, that's the problem. The doctors told me that this week would be my last, and tonight, I should die in my sleep, if their calculations are correct."

"Shouldn't you be in a hospital, then?"

"My body functions correctly, it's simply going to shut down tonight."

"Then how would they know you're going to die?"

"Supposedly, I was supposed to die way before today. Maybe there's a god up there who's angry I'm still alive. I'm not sure how the doctors know I'm going to die and I don't really care, truthfully."

"Wait, so we finally have a date and you're just going to go and _die_ on me?"

She laughed quietly, sadly. "I didn't expect to fall in love during my last week to live, you know."

The silence returned; not the comfortable one, not the one where there's nothing that needs to be said, it was the one when there was nothing that could be said.

"I was afraid. Afraid, afraid, so very afraid. Who isn't afraid of death? Oh, like I said, it's so funny, the one thing to be all 'human' about, it's to be afraid of death. To not fear death is simple recklessness, foolishness, but you simply can't help admire those who don't fear death, love them for being stupid. For being what you couldn't. But at least it's my Free Flyte, hmm?"

Sakura turned to face him again, and he couldn't tear himself away from those haunting eyes.

"You must promise me that when my time is up, you will forget me."

Fear flooded through him all over again.

"Wh- what? I- I couldn't… No!"

Her eyes, her eyes, the exact shade of green he fell in love with.

"_Promise me."_

But his own amber eyes were filled with tears.

"I promise."

"Thank you."

One last smile, sad, beautiful, and he fell in love with her all over again as the sun set and they watched silently.


	8. Endings

F R E E F L Y T E

Chapter 8  
Endings

* * *

She is finally free to take flyte.

* * *

The bridge was peaceful that day. No milling tourists, no other random couples taking up _their_ space. A tiny, insignificant thing, but now it would be the thing that connected her and him.

It was October again, the month, as Sakura had put it, _"the leaves were painted golden and red, letting people admire them for a few days before deciding to fall and thus die._"

The sky was a blue, the air was crisp, and a lazy cloud drifted across the sky.

Syaoran was alone.

The photo he had taken so long ago by that camera Sakura always insisted on using was clutched in one hand, Sakura's face smiling as usual, her green eyes as mysterious as ever, looking ever so slightly up to the sky, where it always was.

He leaned against the railing, letting out a tiny sigh. One year, exactly one year had passed from the day she had disappeared. Never dead, because one does not ever truly die. She was not insignificant. She would always be there.

"_A million things one could ask, and the next day, one will regret not asking them. Ask already, Syaoran, it's not that hard to open your mouth."_

It was much too late, but now he understood the trueness in that statement. And though he never thought the day would come, he did miss her sarcasm.

Truthfully? He missed everything about her, even though he had promised to forget her. A fool's love, forcing him to promise something impossible.

The wind ruffled his hair around and he closed his eyes, letting himself be immersed in the world around him.

The photo tugged in his hand, and suddenly, it flew out of his hand, slipping out of his tight grasp. Syaoran's eyes opened quickly, desperation in them, amber eyes desperately searching for the photo that was his precious proof that once upon a time, she was _there_. Alive. Real.

It was already too far out of reach, dancing over the waters, the winds never letting up, carrying it up to the sky and heavens. He watched it fly with some realization dawning on him, before a bitter yet relaxed smile appeared.

"_My flyte is different from the book, Syaoran. It's not some charm that can make you fly. To me… it's the freedom of flying. Free Flyte."_

"_But you can't fly."_

_Her mysterious eyes flashed mischievously. "If you think that way, then you can't."_

Syaoran closed his eyes again, hearing the wind whistle in his ear and bring Sakura up to the sky, letting her take flyte.

She was finally free.

"_Good-bye, Sakura."_

THANK YOU, those who stuck with me to the end of the story. Reviewers, readers, people who favorited or story alerted this little philosophical thing of mine. I'm sure some of you will be disappointed by the ending, but this was how I wrote it.

Again, thank you.


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